Chargers' Turner ignores naysayers, focuses on football

SAN DIEGO - The rain was torrential that Monday morning, falling
from the sky in buckets and keeping the freeways in gridlock well
into the afternoon. The sun never appeared, and gray skies ruled
the mid-February day.

But to thousands of Chargers fans, a piece of news poured down
that was dozens of levels harder to deal with than the hammering
rain. Norv Turner was being hired as the team's new head coach.

The same Norv Turner who had a 58-82-1 record as a head coach
with the Washington Redskins and Oakland Raiders was being handed
the reins of a team that had gone 14-2 last season with the best
overall talent in the NFL.

That didn't sit well with the callers to the local sports-talk
radio shows or the rabid fans who use the Internet to follow their
beloved team. Reactions ranged from stunned to upset, save for the
Raiders' fan who dialed in to express how ecstatic he was that the
Chargers had hired the coach who failed in Oakland.

At an early-afternoon press conference, Chargers general manager
A.J. Smith held his ground.

His long rift with former coach Marty Schottenheimer was over
and his first head coaching hire was being assailed from every
angle.

Smith cited maintaining continuity as the most important factor
in the hire - Turner installed the Chargers' offense during a stint
as offensive coordinator in 2001- and acknowledged the overriding
concern over Turner's track record as a head coach.

"I'm pretty much aware of who he is and where he's been," Smith
said. "This isn't Washington and this isn't Oakland. This is the
San Diego Chargers. This is our football team. We'll see how it
goes."

A month later, Turner was relaxed as he sat on the couch in his
office and discussed the original reaction to his hiring.

"Part of you does want to prove people wrong," he said, "but the
most important part is I want to put this football team and this
organization in the best chance to go out and have the success we
should have."

Turner inherits a much better situation than he faced in
Washington and Oakland. He took over the Redskins in 1994 while the
organization was declining, and the Raiders were already in
disarray when he was hired in 2004.

But accounts of his departures from both jobs hint at occasional
leadership or motivational issues.

Washington's ownership situation after Jack Kent Cooke died
hindered Turner's efforts with the Redskins, and Turner isn't the
only Raiders coach to struggle under meddling owner Al Davis.

"The situation here in Oakland wasn't the best, but I know what
kind of person he was," Raiders linebacker Kirk Morrison said.
"He's a perfectionist and he wants to get everything right. His
knowledge of the game is great and he interacts well with
players.

"Sometimes when things go wrong, people try to do more and they
often get out of the team game. I think that's what happened in
Oakland."

Revered for his work as an offensive coordinator, beginning with
his hand in Troy Aikman's development with the Dallas Cowboys in
the early 1990s, Turner knows it will be what happens in San Diego
that defines his head-coaching career.

"He knows this is maybe his last chance to show what he can do
as a head coach," Aikman said.

Coaching beginnings

Turner, who turns 55 next month, grew up in the Bay Area suburb
of Martinez, a town along the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers
that is the birthplace of baseball legend Joe DiMaggio.

Turner cites high school coach Charlie Tourville as a "big
influence" on his interest in becoming a football coach. Turner
played quarterback and safety at Alhambra High in Martinez and
earned a scholarship to Oregon.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Dan Fouts was the Ducks' starting
quarterback, and the assistant coaches included future NFL coaches
John Robinson and George Seifert. Turner faced adversity early in
his Oregon career by having major surgeries on his right knee in
each of his first two years.

Fouts' college career ended in 1972 and Turner split time with
Herb Singleton as a junior. Finally, as a fifth-year senior, Turner
became the starter. The Ducks went 2-9, and Turner was intercepted
15 times against just five touchdowns.

"It was hard to evaluate him because the team around him was not
very good," Fouts said. "So that didn't help his development as a
player. But the mental side of it, he was right there. The injuries
to his leg combined with a bad offensive line - he did struggle.
There's no question."

Turner turned his focus to coaching and was a graduate assistant
with Oregon in 1975. The following year, Robinson landed USC's
head-coaching position and hired Turner, who was still a few months
shy of his 24th birthday.

"He had an unusual sense of the game," said Robinson, a
part-time Carlsbad resident. "I knew he had something special about
him from a coaching standpoint. You knew it was going to be his
life, and I just think you saw 'Coach' all over him."

Turner coached receivers for four seasons at USC and later the
secondary (1980) and quarterbacks (1981-83) before serving as
offensive coordinator in 1984. After that season, Turner rejoined
Robinson, who had left USC after the 1982 season to become coach of
the Los Angeles Rams.

During six seasons with the Rams, Turner learned the Don Coryell
offensive system from Ernie Zampese, the offensive coordinator of
the Chargers' "Air Coryell" teams. In 1991, Dallas hired Turner as
offensive coordinator.

The Cowboys were struggling offensively before Turner arrived.
So head coach Jimmy Johnson gave Turner the freedom to install the
offense the Rams were using, and the team's fortunes quickly
changed. Aikman became a star quarterback, and running back Emmitt
Smith and receiver Michael Irvin became big-time stars. The Cowboys
won the Super Bowl in two of Turner's three years in Dallas.

"He took advantage of the situation in Dallas," Fouts said. "By
that, I mean he came in and brought the Coryell offense with him
and found himself with a Hall of Fame quarterback, a Hall of Fame
running back and a Hall of Fame wide receiver. And they produced
because of his system and his coaching."

The success led to Turner's first head-coaching gig.

On Feb 2, 1994, Turner was introduced as the coach of the
Washington Redskins.

First head coaching job

The Redskins were the class of the NFL in 1991, rolling to a
14-2 regular-season record and winning Super Bowl XXVI.

But two years later, with most of the standouts either gone or
aging, Washington went 4-12 under Richie Petitbon. Turner became
coach, and quarterback Heath Shuler was tabbed with the third
overall pick of the 1994 draft. The Redskins went 9-23 over the
next two seasons.

Cooke, the team's popular owner, died on April 6, 1997 and chaos
reigned over the next two-plus years. Daniel Snyder eventually
purchased the team shortly before the 1999 season.

At the time, the on-field product appeared to be turning the
corner. Behind Pro Bowl quarterback Brad Johnson, the Redskins went
10-6 in 1999 and made the playoffs. Washington defeated Detroit in
its first playoff game since 1992 and then led Tampa Bay 13-0 in
the third quarter the following week.

But a trip to the NFC Championship Game didn't materialize.
Johnson committed two turnovers (one interception, one fumble) deep
in Redskins territory, setting up the Buccaneers for two short
touchdown drives.

The Redskins scrambled to recover and moved into field-goal
range with just over a minute to play.

Kicker Brett Conway lined up to attempt the potential
game-winning 51-yard kick but never received the opportunity. The
snap from Dan Turk was errant, and the Buccaneers won 14-13.

"There wasn't much doubt in my mind that we were going to make
the field goal," Turner said. "Our kicker just made one into the
wind from (48) yards. Every time I've ever lined up and watched the
field-goal team, and it's a team I'm coaching, I expect the guy to
make it. You assume he's going to make it.

"The disappointing thing was that we didn't get a chance to kick
it."

After the season, Snyder spent millions of dollars to bring in
defensive veterans Bruce Smith, Deion Sanders and Mark Carrier. He
added Jeff George to challenge Johnson.

Chemistry suffered despite the team's 6-2 start.

Things then unraveled, and the Redskins lost four of five games.
Turner was fired with three games left in the season and remains
disappointed that he didn't get to finish the 2000 campaign.

"He deserved to finish that out," said LeCharls McDainel, the
Redskins' special teams coach who was fired the same day as Turner.
"It's very evident. Once he was gone, how did the team play? Did it
get any better? No. It got worse.

"I believe if he would've finished the season, we might have
sneaked into the playoffs."

Robinson maintains that Turner "did a great job" with the
Redskins. Fouts shares a similar view.

"They were right there on the brink of the playoffs, and the
owner just made decisions that were wrong," Fouts said.

'No chance'

Turner's second head-coaching chance came with the Raiders in
2004. Oakland played in the Super Bowl after the 2002 season but
fell apart the following year, going 4-12 under Bill Callahan.

Quarterback Rich Gannon, the NFL MVP in 2002, suffered a serious
neck injury, and veteran receivers Tim Brown and Jerry Rice were
fading. The defense had declined, and the franchise turned to young
players to plug the holes. And of course, there was always the
looming shadow of Davis.

"It's a pattern that Oakland coaches have had to face forever,"
said Fouts, "a meddlesome owner."

Oakland went 5-11 in Turner's first season. Then Randy Moss was
acquired from Minnesota, and Moss proved to be more of a
distraction than an All-Pro receiver. A 4-12 record ensued, with
the Raiders losing their final six games. Turner was fired with a
9-23 mark.

"He had no chance (to win) with the Raiders," Robinson said.

Other than making his overall NFL record sound more ugly -
58-82-1 computes to a .415 winning percentage - the Raiders' stint
didn't gravely hurt Turner's reputation.

"I even had calls after the Raider thing - 'Don't be fazed by
this, don't be affected by this. Just keep doing the things you're
doing,' " Turner said.

Turner spent the 2006 season as San Francisco's offensive
coordinator, earning raves for his work with second-year
quarterback Alex Smith and second-year running back Frank Gore. He
was a finalist for the Dallas job in January, but when the Cowboys
instead chose Chargers defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, Turner
appeared destined to spend the 2007 season with the 49ers.

Then Schottenheimer was fired by the Chargers on Feb. 12. Seven
days later, Turner was hired.

Under scrutiny

Turner's first season as Chargers coach doesn't start for
another four-plus months, but it's already clear that he will be
the NFL's most scrutinized coach this fall and winter. Fail to take
the Chargers deep into the playoffs and "I told you so" will be
running rampant from the mouths of his detractors.

Aikman lives two time zones away in Dallas but is very much
aware of the sentiment.

"Regardless of what anybody thinks of his hiring in San Diego,
it really doesn't matter as we speak in April," Aikman said. "If
people were excited with the hire, it doesn't matter. If people
were wondering why he was hired, it doesn't matter. He knows better
than anybody that all that matters is 'Where is this team in
January?'

"If in January they've accomplished the things he's been hired
to do, then everyone is going to be thrilled."

Robinson shares the view of many Turner supporters - that this
stint with the Chargers marks the first time that Turner has
inherited a good situation.

"This is his great chance, and I'm just so damn excited about
it," Robinson said. "I can't wait for this thing to get going.

"(USC coach) Pete Carroll had two not-so-good (NFL head coaching
experiences) and now Pete Carroll is considered one of the best
coaches, period.

"I think Pete Carroll was primed for the USC job like Norv is
primed for this job."

The fervent chatter about whether Turner was the right hire on
that rainy Monday has temporarily subsided during the offseason.
But as a veteran of the slippery coaching terrain, Turner knows it
can quickly arise once the season begins.

But true to his unassuming nature, he says he will refuse to get
caught up in anything other than his most important task -- winning
football games.

"The No. 1 thing your focus has to be on is your football team
and your organization," Turner said.

"That's my No. 1 obligation. If I handle that obligation in the
right manner, then the other thing will change. The people that
questioned it will say, 'Hey, you know what, maybe they did hire
the right guy.' "

New Chargers coach Norv Turner has worked for seven different
NFL organizations during a coaching career that began in 1975.
Here's a look at Turner's professional and college stops, beginning
with his college football playing career at Oregon:

Oregon, 1970-74/Quarterback

Suffered major injuries to his right knee in each of his first
two seasons on campus before earning letters in his final three.
Legendary quarterback Dan Fouts was a teammate through the 1972
season and Herb Singleton received the bulk of the playing time in
1973. Turner started every game in 1974, throwing for 1,261 yards
and five touchdowns while being intercepted 15 times.

Oregon, 1975/Graduate assistant

Gets his start in coaching by assisting with the coaching of the
varsity receivers and planning the offensive game plan for the
junior-varsity team.

USC, 1976-84/Assistant coach

John Robinson, an assistant at Oregon during Turner's playing
career, hires Turner as receivers coach, responsibilities Turner
held for four seasons. Turner coached defensive backs in 1980, when
the secondary included three future NFL stars in Hall of Famer
Ronnie Lott (10 Pro Bowls), Dennis Smith (six Pro Bowls), Joey
Browner (six Pro Bowls) and former NFL player and current Tennessee
Titans coach Jeff Fisher. Turner was quarterbacks coach from
1981-83 and offensive coordinator in 1984.

Los Angeles Rams, 1985-1990/Assistant coach

Robinson again hires Turner as receivers coach. Tight end was
added to his duties in 1987 after the hiring of Ernie Zampese as
offensive coordinator. Zampese installed a version of the creative
"Air Coryell" offense that he had learned while serving as
offensive coordinator of the Chargers under Don Coryell and the
Rams became a prolific scoring team.

Dallas Cowboys, 1991-93/Offensive coordinator

Turner is hired by Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson and installs the
offense he learned from Zampese. The Cowboys blossom under Turner
and quarterback Troy Aikman, running back Emmitt Smith and receiver
Michael Irvin all became major stars. The Cowboys went to the
playoffs for the first time since 1985 in Turner's first season and
then won back-to-back Super Bowls in his other two seasons, making
Turner a viable head-coaching candidate.

Washington Redskins, 1994-2000/ Head coach

Turner's stint starts with 9-23 record over first two years as
highly touted quarterback Heath Shuler flops miserably.
Respectability returns under Gus Frerotte before Pro Bowler Brad
Johnson guides team to 10-6 record in 1999 and the only playoff
appearance during Turner's seven-year reign. Washington beats
Detroit in its opening playoff game and then lines up for a
possible winning field goal against Tampa Bay with a spot in the
NFC title game on the line. But Dan Turk's snap is errant and Brett
Conway never gets a chance to attempt the 51-yarder. The following
December, Turner is fired with three games remaining in the 2000
season and Turk dies of testicular cancer at age 38.

Chargers, 2001/Offensive coordinator

Mike Riley's final season as Chargers' coach starts off 5-2 and
then team loses final nine games. Turner is a candidate for the
head-coaching job after Riley is fired but is passed over in favor
of Marty Schottenheimer.

Miami Dolphins, 2002-03/Offensive coordinator/assistant head
coach

Longtime friend Dave Wannstedt hands control of the offense to
Turner and Ricky Williams rushes for franchise-record 1,853 yards
in 2002. After Miami's 10-win season in 2003, Turner is hired as
Oakland's head coach.

Oakland Raiders, 2004-05/Head coach

The "Commitment to Excellence" is nowhere to be found during
Turner's two-year stint. He inherits a squad that was in disarray
in Bill Callahan's final season as coach and one in need of major
rebuilding. Turner is fired after records of 5-11 and 4-12.

San Francisco 49ers, 2006/Offensive coordinator

Turner is hired by head coach Mike Nolan, who was defensive
coordinator at Washington under Turner from 1997-99. Turner's
tutelage brings a huge rise in production from second-year
quarterback Alex Smith, who throws 16 touchdown passes after
throwing just one as a rookie. Young running back Frank Gore also
has a huge jump in production, rushing for 1,695 yards in his
second season after gaining 608 in 2005.

Airing it out

A look at the quarterbacks Norv Turner has worked with as NFL
offensive coordinator or head coach: